Selected quad for the lemma: faith_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
faith_n	article_n	church_n	creed_n	8,288	5	10.3077	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09868	A sermon preached at the consecration of the right Reverend Father in God Barnaby Potter DD. and L. Bishop of Carlisle, at Ely house in Holbourne March 15. 1628. By Christopher Potter D.D. provost of Queenes Colledge in Oxford. Hereunto is added an advertisement touching the history of the quarrels of Pope Paul 5 with the Venetians; penned in Italian by F. Paul, and done into English by the former author	Potter, Christopher, 1591-1646.; Sarpi, Paolo, 1552-1623. Historia particolare delle cose passate tra'l sommo pontefice Paolo V. e la serenissima republica di Venetia. English. Selections.	1629 (1629)	STC 20134; ESTC S114961	32,999	132

preservative against all error this is the ground all other discourses though profitable are but the descants If any dainty palate distast this bread of Angels hee is distempered and worthy to fast Whose heart that hath any compassion bleeds not to see the strange growth of ignorance and infidelity in this age and the poor Church every where miserably labouring under her wofull Schismes and ruptures Certainly the ground of all this calamity is because the old rudiments of pietie the principles of saving truth are every where neglected and new subtle inventions with great vehemency pressed Men are faln from living to disputing and whilst their hands are idle and their heads empty yet their tongues must needs be working And after a while it will bee a matter of great wit to be a Christian for he must be faine every yeare to learne a new Creed Each private opinion must needs bee matter of faith and it contents not many zelotes of each side to injoy their owne conceits they are out of charity with all that are not of their judgement I verily thinke it might bee a happy meanes to settle many unfortunate Controversies and to unite us all in blessed truth and peace if men would give themselves leave without passion rightly to apprehend and consider the diversitie and degrees of divine truth Many truths are profitable very few a Ioh. 17. 3 20. 31. Rom 10. 9. 13. Luke 7. 48. 8. 48. 2● 4● Act 8. ●7 1● 31. necessary As in the practicall part of religion true sanctifying grace hath a wide latitude very strong and vigorous in one very weake and feeble in another yet in both saving So in the intellectuall or dogmaticall part of Christianitie b R●● I●cobus in 〈◊〉 Casaub Epist ad Card P●rron G●●●ve ●spraefat Observ 〈◊〉 Harm confess G●●l●rt observ in H●●min gij Opuscula D. Vsher Serm. of the unity of faith Vi●c Lirin cap 39. Petrus Mol●ntus in Confilio Gallicè scripto all divine verities are not of equall moment and necessity S. Paul hath taught us a distinction betweene foundations and superstructions 1 Cor. 3. and among these latter some border more closely upon the foundation then others Where there is a distinct and explicite assent in all the maine Articles of the Catholique faith and in all conclusions cleerely immediately necessarily issuing from those principles and no poison after mingled with this milke Other truths more subtile may admit an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or a non liquet both ignorance and error without danger as being disputable in themselves and happely by plaine Scripture indeterminable To be free from all error and sin is the priviledge of the Church triumphing in this life where there is so great variety of the Spirits illuminatiō so great imbecility of all mens understanding and so many mysteries inscrutable to expect an absolute and generall consent in all particles of truth were a great vanity to exact it a greater tyranny of pernicious consequence in the Church The best of men are but men at the best and if any in this s 〈…〉 e of mortality thinke or hope to reach all incomprehensible Mysteries hee mistakes his measure and forgets that his dwelling is in the dust that he is yet on earth not yet in heaven So long as we are here below on our way ignorance and infirmity will accompany us they will not leave us till we leave the world and be admitted into our heavenly Country When once a 1 Cor. 3. 10 12. 2 Cor 5 7. 1 Ioh. 3. 2. the time of perfection is come then not before shall all defects bee abolished all imperfections perfited then shall our Faith be turned into vision our darke knowledge into cleare comprehension b I●s Scal Ele●c Orat. Chron●● Elias quùm venerit solvet dubia Now those maine Articles whereof we spake the wisdome of the ancient Church contracted out of Scripture into a short Creed which they called the Rule of faith and placed in it the c Mr Brad. ford Mart. conference with Heth a●d Day unity of the Church which d Ire● l●b 1. cap. 2. 3. Iren●us saies admits neither addition nor diminution being common to small and great And e Te●tul de Virg Vel. c. 1. Vide et●●m Ambros Ser 38 de Iejun Quadr. in fine Rufi● in Ex●os Symb. in p●aefat August d● Temp. Ser. 115. 119 181. in praef Leon. Epist 13. ad fin Tertullian to the same purpose Regula fidei una omnino est immobilis irr●formabilis then after a briefe repetition of it hee addes Hâc lege fidei manente caetera admittunt novitatem correctionis But above all the rest f Naz orat 3. de pace num 14. 26. Vinc. Lirin Iud. 3 Gregorie Nazianzene most excellently and judiciously handles this argument in his 14 Oration and his 26 which he entitles de moderatione in disputationibus servandâ This was the faith once given to the Saints for which those ancient Worthies contended so stoutly even unto blood And which they did all so diligently inculcate unto their auditors as it appeares by lustine Martyr his Exposition of the faith S. Basil his Treatise or Homily de verâ fide Athanasius in his Creed Epiphanius in his Ancoratus S. Augustine his Enchiridion and the Bookes de Doctrinâ Christianâ Gregory Nyssen and Cyrill of Ierusalem in their Catecheticall Orations c. upon this evidence they convicted and condemned all ancient heresies and I am confident were they now alive they would all side with us in our necessary separation from the abominations idolatry and tyranny of the Papacy with which no good Christian can hold any union in faith any communion in charitie Now for our Controversies first let me professe I favour not I rather suspect any new inventions for ab Antiquitate non recedo nisi invitus especially renouncing all such as any way favour or flatter the depraved nature and will of man which I constantly beleeve to be free onely to evill and of it selfe to have no power at all meerely none to any act or thing spiritually good Most heartily embracing that doctrine which most amply commends the riches of Gods free grace which I acknowledge to bee the whole and sole cause of our predestination conversion and salvation abhorring all damned doctrines of the Pelagians Semipelagians Iesuites Socinians and of their ragges and reliques which helpe onely to pride and pricke up corrupt nature humbly confessing in the words of S. g Test ad Qui● lib. 3. c. 4. Cyprian so often repeated by that worthy champion of grace S. a Cont. du●s Epist Pel●g l. 4. cap. 9. Austine in nullo gloriandum est quandoquidèm nostrum nihilest It is God that worketh in us both the will and the deed and therefore let him that glorieth glory in the Lord. But for the points in question they might sure bee debated with lesse edge and stomach as they are at this day

excellent matter of Christian meditation and discourse But the collections which they of the Popes side have drawne from hence are such and so frivolous that they are much more capable to move the spleene if the gravitie of the matter permitted then the judgement and are more properly confuted with a smile then with any strength of reason Here is one word in the Text pasce which the Cardinall Bellarmine hath so extended between his teeth that it hath a belly as large and fruitfull as the Trojane horse including whole armies of arguments for the Pope The Pope can desire nothing which this word will not give him He pretends to be a King as well as a Bishop and sayes his temporall power is as wide and broad as his spirituall And t is true sayes Bellarmine for Christ said to S. Peter Pasce id est Regio more impera play the Rex In the ancient Church when any heresie disturbed the publique truth and peace a grave assembly of Bishops was called and the Booke of God fairly laid open in the midst and out of it were all doubts determined Now Scriptures and Councills are needlesse for the Pope claimes to be supreame Iudge of all Controversies And * Lib. 4. de Rom. P. cap. 1. Bellarmine thinkes the claime to be well grounded upon this pasce in my Text. And t is a great wonder the Pope was never thought infallible in his judgement till this last Age since this * Ibid. c. 3. pasce implies that also so clearly And if the Heretiques doe not beleeve that he hath power to make new Articles of Faith and when they cry shame upon Pope Pius the 4. for adding twelve new Articles to the old Apostles Creed t is because they are ignorant and know not what pasce signifies Briefly this one word containes more matter then al the Bible besides it works miracles and makes the Pope omnipotent gives him all power not onely in heaven and earth but where God hath nothing to doe in Purgatorie For if you aske by what authoritie he takes upon him to pardon sinnes and soules after death to give or sell the Saints merits to dispense with oathes to depose Kings and dispose of their kingdomes or if he list to murther them If you looke into the Popes Lexicon you shall find that pasce expressely denotes all this authoritie and inables him to be not only a Prince or a Pastor or a Bishop but even a Butcher Well the repetition of these horrid fantasies shall bee their refutation Iustin Martyr saith well 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a grosse errour ever caries its Iustin M. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 owne conviction in its forehead I am sorie I have spent so much of my time and of your patience in moving this dunghill But these weeds and thorns lay in my way and I must needs cleare my passage I dismisle the Popes flatterers with my pitie and my prayers and say no more but this If they had any feare of God any shame of men any reverence to Antiquitie any feeling or care of conscience they would not dare thus profanely and leudly to dally with Scriptures or presume so to colour or cover their doctrine of devils under the name of God Thus farre I have digressed to follow the Theeves that would steale away the sense of my Text for so Gregory Nazianzene wittily sayes of Heretiques that they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Orat. 3 6. ●ive de T●eol 4. And now that wee have done with the corrupt Glosse we may goe forward by Gods assistance with the Text. It containes as we have said the renewing of Peters commission wherein the parts or points observable are two First the authoritie of it Iesus said unto him Secondly the matter or summary of it Feed my sheepe Our Lord first calls and inables him to his office then directs him in it First he gives him power to execute his charge Iesus said unto him secondly he gives him instructions how to execute it Feed my sheepe Of both these in order very briefly For the first Peter takes not upon himselfe the honor of the Apostleship till he was called by Christ his Lord and God as were the rest of his fellowes In that calling of the Apostles some things were personall and peculiar to themselves others generall concerning all their lawfull Successors Bishops and Pastors The Apostles had an immediate vocation from Christ in person our calling is not of men but t is by men their 's neither of men nor by men They had an universall mission an unlimited jurisdiction an infallible assistance of the Spirit the gift of tongues and miracles All these were priviledges extraordinarie and passed with their persons But the warrant and worke of this Commission generally and equally belongs to all us as well as to all them None may usurpe the charge of a Bishop or a Pastor till Iesus say unto him Feed my sheepe And hence we learne two leslons of great importance and consideration 1. The Author of all lawfull 1 vocation to the holy Ministerie is onely Christ the Lord. Onely Christ exclusively to all men not to the two other Persons in the glorious Trinity which all equally concur to this externall worke God the Father hath placed in the Church a 1 Cor. 12. 28. Apostles Prophets Teachers Pastors c. And God the b Act. 20. 28. holy Ghost ordained the Bishops at Ephesus and elsewhere c Act. 1 3. 2. Separate me Paul and Barnabas for the worke whereunto I have called them For it belongs onely to the d Mat. 9. 38. Lord of the harvest to send forth labourers into his harvest and who should appoint e Mat. 24. 45. Stewards over the House but he who is Master of the House Father of the family This consideration must first helpe to animate our feeblenesse and add unto us an edge and courage against all the difficulties and discouragements which we shall meet in our holy calling Everie good Minister must looke to bee Theologus crucis not Theologus gloriae when hee enters upon this warfare hee may not dreame of an easie or lazie life to passe his time in pompe or pleasure like the glorious Clergie of Rome but he must prepare to play the man and fight it out not onely with absurd and unreasonable men but even with beasts as Paul did at Ephesus yea with devills And therefore he must buckle himselfe to his worke and know that hee must eate his bread if not with the sweating of his browes yet which is much sorer with the beating of his braines Wherefore S. Paul wanting a word able to expresse the grievous paines of our Ministery sets it forth in two both very sore and heavie ones Our calling is a 1 Thess 2. 9 and 2 Thess 3. 8 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a labor a travaile a tiring labour a miserable travaile a labour like that of reapers a travaile